Hi,
My family is considering a vist to Istanbul and one of the things I would like to do is some planespotting. I noticed a designated area on iGA’s website but sources are reporting different things about it being open.
Can anyone from the area help out. Even if it’s closed, is spotting still “understood” and safe there? In places like India it’s considered really suspicious so I was wondering if the same is true in Turkiye.
:)
Hey!
I’d recommend taking a look at this website (link below). I always use this when finding spotting locations, and this guide was last updated in September so it should be up to date. If anyone from Turkey would like to share, please feel free to do so!
Link: Istanbul Intl. Airport - Spotting Guide - spotterguide.net
Thanks, I saw the website before I posted haha. My main concern is all the sources I can find about the spotting deck’s closure were posted after the last update.
Would love to hear from someone who’s been still.
Yes. It’s in the airport so safety won’t be problem. It’s near 34s and all informations is in this website . But sadly Applications will reopen in 2025 spring.
I was actually looking at this yesterday for an upcoming trip, seems like it’s closed until Spring according to the official website.
Ah okay, thanks guys.
There is an official place in the airport for plane spotters but it’s closed right now, and getting a reservation was also somehow problematic for me in the past. When runways 34/35/36 are in use, Arnavutkoy lies under the approach path. It’s basically a village, but you can park your car on the dirt road and walk on the fields to get some pics. It is not optimal, but it is an option :)
Yenikoy is also an option when runways 16/17/18 are in use. It’s another village which lies under the approach path.
